Thibeaux, Grayslake North bruise another opponent

Perpetual motion on the basketball court, Brandi Thibeaux drips more than sweat.

At Mundelein's Thanksgiving tournament this week, Grayslake North's sophomore point guard has been spilling blood.

It happened again Friday night during the Knights' 57-35 win over Highland Park.

"But she's tough. She hung in there," coach Rob Nicoletti said with a smile after his Knights improved to 4-0 overall and 4-0 in the tournament.

After sinking 4 baskets in helping Grayslake North build an 18-11 lead after the first quarter, Thibeaux was hustling back on defense early in the second when she ran into a Highland Park player. Thibeaux bit her lower lip - the same lip she bloodied Wednesday night against Mundelein when she caught an errant elbow.

She hustled to the sideline during a timeout, leaving a small trail of blood on the court and on her uniform. During the stoppage in play, she quickly huddled up with her teammates, but her lip wouldn't stop bleeding.

"I was just trying to hurry up because I didn't want to stop the game," Thibeaux said. "I just wanted to get back on the court."

Thibeaux stood the rest of the half as Mundelein's athletic trainer tried to assist the wounded Knight. Trailing 20-13 when Thibeaux left the game, Highland Park twice pulled within three points. But a pair of baskets by Sidney Lovitsch and one by Alyssa Gunn helped Grayslake North take a 27-20 advantage into the break.

"I'm not worried about it because I know my teammates can contribute and keep us in the game," Thibeaux said. "If I'm out, I know they can still score the ball."

With Thibeaux good to go again to start the second half, the Knights took control. Thibeaux, Lovitsch and Abbey Stinner each hit a pair of shots in the third quarter, as Grayslake North outscored Highland Park (0-4, 0-4) 15-8 to take a 42-28 lead into the fourth.

Thibeaux finished with 13 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals. Lovitsch also scored 13 points to go along with 5 rebounds, 4 steals and 3 blocks. Kelley O'Brien had 9 points and 7 boards, and Stinner contributed 8 points and 8 rebounds.

"As I always say, 'Next person up,' " Nicoletti said. "The other girls did a good job responding and playing together as a team."

Highland Park was led by Kaci Burden's 11 points and 14 rebounds and Kirby Bartelstein's 10 points, 8 rebounds and 4 steals.

Grant will play Glenbrook South (4-0, 4-0) for the championship at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

"We're excited," said Nicoletti, whose team went 2-3 in the tournament in his first season as coach last year. "We just look at everything as an opportunity, and we have an opportunity to get win No. 5 (Saturday). That's our focus."

Grant 45, Carmel 32: Taylor Drake and Jasmine Sangster each scored 10 points, as the Bulldogs won their second game in a row in Mundelein's tournament.

Grant (2-2, 2-2) led 13-7 after one quarter and maintained the advantage. The Bulldogs were up 22-16 at halftime and 34-25 after three quarters.

Grant freshman Ally Mahinay came off the bench to score 7 points, including a 3-pointer.

Carmel (1-3, 1-3) received a game-high 12 points from Daija Pruitt. Alexa Amato had 9 points for the Corsairs.

Glenbrook South 44, Mundelein 30: Valparaiso-bound Caitlin Morrison poured in a tournament-high 29 points, as the Titans improved to 4-0 overall and 4-0 in Mundelein's tournament.

Glenbrook South will play Grayslake North (4-0, 4-0) for the championship at 4:30 p.m. Saturday.

"I'm impressed (with Grayslake North)," Glenbrook South coach Steve Weissenstein said. "(Nos.) 21 (Brandi Thibeaux) and 23 (Sidney Lovitsch) are really good players. They're quick and they can shoot."

The 6-foot-2 Morrison sank four 3-pointers against Mundelein (1-3, 1-3), which dropped its third game in a row. Her dad, Scott, also played at Valparaiso.

"Obviously, she can score inside and outside," Weissenstein said. "She's just a really good athlete. She's got a beautiful shot."

Morrison's 3 with three seconds left in the first quarter tied the score at 16-16. She then single-handedly outscored Mundelein (1-2, 1-3) 6-0 in the second quarter.

"The first quarter, we were pressing and we played a little 1-3-1," Weissenstein said. "Stupid coach (laughing), trying gimmicks. I just said let's go back to man to man, and we did fine."

Mundelein sank seven 3-pointers, including three by Kendall Wald, whose 9 points coming off the bench were a team high. The Mustangs wrap up the tournament with a 6 p.m. game Saturday against Carmel.